Globe artichoke is one of the oldest vegetables in cultivation. References praising its uses go back to the fourth century BC. The dried leaves contain cynarin, which increases bile flow and aides digestion, stimulating the liver and gall bladder and helping to reduce cholesterol levels. Tea can be made with the dried leaves steeped in hot water; a sweetening agent will greatly enhance the experience. Cynarin inhibits the taste receptors for sweetness, producing a bitter taste that will last a few minutes. This in turn produces the paradoxical “artichoke effect,” a heightened perception of sweetness in foods consumed after eating artichoke, so that even water will taste sweet.